Copyright & DMCA

Copyright protection is invoked as soon as a work is recorded in a permanent medium and can includes such things as photographs, movies, video games, books, website design and mobile phone applications. As a copyright owner, you should register your copyrights with the United States Copyright Office for full legal protection and act proactively to prevent copyright infringement. Copyright infringement occurs when someone exploits your work (by copying or reproducing your work) without permission.

As part of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”), Congress enacted a takedown policy that permits copyright owners to request the removal of unauthorized reproductions of its copyrighted material from servers hosting the content. For example, if a YouTube video plays music without authorization, the DMCA provide a method by which a copyright owner can send a request to have the video taken down. The person who uploaded the video has a chance to respond to the takedown request and demand that the video remain up. While the DMCA system has proven quite effective against the piracy and unauthorized use of copyrights, it has also been abused by overly aggressive copyright owners.

Lee Law has considerable experience in all phases of copyright law. After the creation of your work, we can help you register your copyright (an absolute necessity), draft contracts to license or transfer your copyright to someone else, and protect the integrity of your copyright but performing all acts of enforcement. Our enforcement methods include sending cease and desist letters, having infringement taken down from websites and search engines, or even commencing litigation if necessary. We can review your work to make sure it doesn’t infringe other rights’ owners or defend you in case you are accused of copyright infringement. Lee Law owns the copyright on protecting your copyright.